


Oceanus

by mechanistmacha (SaturnJay), saccharinespice, SaturnJay



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Blood and Injury, Dimitri is a big handsome shark man, Everyone Is Gay, Everything is consensual, Except... Glenn is alive in this one, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Smut, HAPPY MERMAY, Happy Ending, Human/Monster Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Injury Recovery, M/M, MerMay, Multi, Other, Probably an orgy or two lol, Shameless Smut, They save Dimitri like Free Willy style, This is probably forty percent plot, Weird mermaid anatomy, and sixty percent porn, no beta we die like Glenn, sorrynotsorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:36:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24239653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaturnJay/pseuds/mechanistmacha, https://archiveofourown.org/users/saccharinespice/pseuds/saccharinespice, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaturnJay/pseuds/SaturnJay
Summary: Claude, Sylvain, and Felix are supposed to be working on college theses, but an advertisement for a weird carnival distracts them instead--especially promising 'adult entertainment.' Sylvain thinks it might be fun, but Claude is more worried it might cross the line of injustice, so of course they have to check it out. What they find is clearly out of their depth. (Sorry.)
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Claude von Riegan, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Minor Hilda Valentine Goneril/Marianne von Edmund - Relationship, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sylvain Jose Gautier/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 72





	1. Beached and Bruiser

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for this chapter: some blood from a light harpoon stabbing, uh.... attempts to save a big fish man?

Felix didn’t want to go to some stupid pop-up carnival, but the very moment they advertised ‘adult-themed’ exhibits, he knew it had been a mistake to mention it to Sylvain. If it were up to him, he’d just be home working on his newest project; his thesis and second in his series  _ A Complete History of Weapon Development in Sreng (By Region).  _

But no way in hell was Sylvain going to let Felix miss out and, reluctant though he was, indulgent he was too--at least with his boyfriend. And of course, if Sylvain was going, his boyfriend’s boyfriend (whom he’d totally let double with Sylvain on him when they were drunk a couple of times) was going too. Sylvain had horny reasons and Claude had ‘research reasons…’ or so he claimed.

So Felix was dragged along. He tossed his reading glasses onto the desk and whined as Sylvain dragged him out the door. Claude’s car was waiting.

“Ugh, do I have to? My thesis..." he muttered wistfully.

“Your thesis can wait," Sylvain said proudly, lifting Felix to put him in the car, buckle him in. "Besides, didn't you already write the first one? What, is the Times best seller list clamoring for the sequel?" He teased him with a kiss and climbed in behind Claude, thumping the back of the chair in excitement. "Come on. You can do all those games of skill you like to do to show off!"

Felix yelped indignantly to be lifted into Claude's jeep, but he just hunched his shoulders and grumbled hatefully in the back seat as Claude looked back and ruffled his hair. "Aw, is our cute little scholar writing more sword fanfiction?" he laughed, high-fiving Sylvain. "Do the Sreng swords meet the Fódlan swords and finally have a forbidden romance?"

"Says the man whose thesis on Almyran-Fódlan socioeconomic relations was so long the  _ dean  _ complained about it!" Felix shot back nastily.

Claude laughed. "Sylvain, are you even started on yours yet? What is it, 'how many people you can bang while trying to finish before the cap and gown ceremony?'"

Sylvain rubbed his arm, a bit sensitive. "C'mon. You know that it's on the toxicity of hierarchal magic and the limitations of patriarchal sexuality." It sounded very fancy coming from his mouth.

Claude quickly retracted. It seemed Sylvain was in less of a fun mood and more in a sensitive one. "I know, I know," he smiled, reaching over to affectionately squeeze his shoulder, caress his cheek. "C'mere. I want a kiss, baby."

The drive was long, since the weird carnival ("a completely outdated concept," Claude kept pointing out) was near the beach, about forty minutes away. Felix supposed it had been a long time since they'd all spent time together. And he did want to kick both their asses at stupid carnival games.

"Like, who goes to a carnival?" Sylvain asked, his feet on the dashboard of the white jeep, the windows down, and leathery vinyl roof pulled back like folded wings. "I mean, besides us. Wouldn't they call it something like... I don't know. ‘Boardwalk Charity for Children Festival’ or whatever? But they  _ did  _ advertise adult entertainment. Is this just a kinda weird kink circus thing? I swear to every goddess, Claude, if there are clowns, I will leave you to be eaten by them."

"Last I checked, clowns don't eat people," Felix countered, rolling his eyes.

"They eat your soul," Claude countered. Claude did  _ not  _ like clowns. "Besides, Sylvain,  _ all  _ carnivals are kink carnivals. Ladies with beards? Weird appendages? Strangely flexible people? What I don't understand is why it's been so popular. I'm worried they're hiding some illegal shit."

"Oh, here we go," Felix groaned. "Mister political savior." 

"I'm serious," Claude said, and his voice was grim enough to silence Felix. "You know how I came over the border. What if they're using immigrants? I'm not letting that shit slide."

Felix quietly nodded. He didn't like the abuse of human rights any more than Claude did.

"At any rate," Claude sighed. "If it turns out to be on the level, over the counter shit, then the worst that could happen is it's boring. Who knows? They might have cute stuffed animals you could win for us," he smiled, tipping his eyes up at Felix through the rearview.

Felix scowled. "I'd win one for Sylvain, not  _ you." _

"Aw."

Sylvain leaned over the seat, blinking sweetly at him with enormous brown eyes. "You'd win me a teddy bear?" he said, in sickening singsong.

"Gross," Felix swatted him away, but of course, he didn't deny it. Both he and Claude liked giving Sylvain whatever he wanted. He deserved to be spoiled, and no one else would do it for him.

When they arrived, there were maybe twenty cars parked on the gravel. It was either emptying out or people were coming later. Claude frowned. "Not a great sign," he confessed, unbuckling to peek out the window. "Hey, guy! Is this that weird carnival?"

The man walking past with his girlfriend glanced over. "Yeah, something like that," he shrugged. "I don't know, we just got here. Tickets are forty bucks."

_ "Forty!?" _ Felix groaned. No wonder most people left at the door.

"I got you guys," Claude said coolly, patting his wallet, and just shushing Sylvain gently before he could protest. "This was my idea. So I got it."

Felix was one hundred percent willing to bet that Claude swindled that money off someone, but given that Claude's targets usually deserved it, he didn't much care. Sylvain normally would have said something, but he was fairly certain he'd spotted forty bucks for Claude on something recently. He finally grumbled his assent, hands in his pockets, attempting to look somewhat cool. The people drifting toward the shifty looking entrance were all in pairs, so... maybe no luck tonight. But he could at least have fun with Claude, tease Felix. He loved them. But this place sure gave him the willies.

Claude smiled his way through the transaction with the ticket salesperson, but as soon as they were into the sandy little courtyard, he turned to them with a flash of danger in his eyes. "A significant paywall," he pointed out. "Surefire way to make sure some people don't come in," he whispered to them both. “They want the size of a crowd they can  _ manage.”  _ There was definitely something shady going on.

As they passed the tents, tiny little fair games and food vendors, they had to wonder where the exhibits were. This was getting a little worrisome, but Claude was intent on it. He smiled his way through another chat with one of the vendors, returning with the information. "Apparently there's only one exhibit," he hissed. "And if they're promising adult entertainment?" He gestured towards the biggest tent, the one with the bouncers, right on the edge of the shore near the water. "Then I'm guessing it's sex trafficking."

Sylvain's spine was already on edge, his head upright, his mouth a hard line. There weren't really any typical rides. It was clear there was a single spectacle; and people were clamoring to get in. No doubt they would take his phone on the way inside, confiscate it.

"Claude, do you want to pass off?" It was something they'd learned how to do sneaking into movies, bumping and slipping the phone between them and back again as they were checked and patted down.

Claude nodded. "Felix, you game? You're smaller, they won't check you as much."

Normally, Felix would hit him for the insult, but this was serious. He nodded as they approached and Claude and Sylvain started chatting animatedly, as if excited for the show. They couldn't look suspicious, but Felix remained quiet. He wasn't quite the actor they were.

"Hey, getting a little frisky there, lady," Claude winked at once of the bouncers, a woman easily twice his size. "I don't need dinner, but a name would be nice." She scowled at him and his slim little phone passed from Claude's sleeve into Felix's pocket.

Sylvain was equally as clever, "Ooh, if you're getting a feel, Claude, I want one. Thank you, ma'am." he said, with an infuriating wink. As he passed through, Felix could easily pass the phone to him, disguised as a light push ahead. "C'mon, there's enough of me to go around!" he said, winking back at Felix. Target received.

The woman ignored them both and patted Felix down, seeming grateful he didn't make any snarky comments as she did so. With Sylvain and Felix's phones, they didn't seem all that suspicious that Claude 'didn't have one.'

They passed through the tented vestibule, where the crowd was gathered. There was a lot of whispering and nervous laughter, but nothing to see yet. The tent was partially on the dock, though, and covered a good fifteen feet of the actual water. Shoes were getting wet. Why? Did they think human trafficking wouldn't count if they were just off the beach?

Claude apologized and hoisted Felix up on Sylvain's shoulders so he could get a look. But there was truly nothing to see yet. It was not the first time that Sylvain held Felix on his shoulders this way, but it was always a bit of a treat.

"What, is this going to be some kind of dolphin show?" Sylvain whispered to Claude, holding onto Felix's shins. "Do you see anything, Fe?"

Felix peered into the dark depths. They had lights pointed towards the tide, but they weren't on. "Tons of dolphins," he said flatly. "And sharks. And they're all jumping through flaming hoops," he continued as he searched. What the hell were they supposed to be looking for?

Someone gasped, someone shrieked, and suddenly the crowd was jostling them, pressing them forcefully back towards the entrance of the tent. Felix blinked as Sylvain struggled to keep him upright. Was that...? No… He thought he saw a shape, long and dark, but the water was too shallow for a shark to be seen without beaching itself, and the lights weren't on.

But sure enough, there it was again, the hint of a fin, ragged and black, peeking just a bit below the docks. Ah... it was deeper here than they had initially thought.

_ "Do not be alarmed, fair patrons!" _ a voice suddenly boomed, far too loud, over the crowd, resulting in a microphone squeal.  _ "Whoops! Sorry about that... anyhow, be not afraid! What you see before you is a creature that makes its home in the darkness far below where sunlight can pierce the depths! In a moment, we will coax him out--for your protection, please step back behind the yellow line!" _

Sylvain held on tight, afraid Felix would fall, or be pushed off. He strained on his tiptoes, hoping against hope Felix could see further. "What the fuck..." he whispered to Claude. "What kind of bullshit is this?" Claude was recording video, but he couldn't hold up the phone yet, didn't want it confiscated until they could get evidence of this so-called creature. He shook his head, having no idea.

Felix could see now, a row of faint lights glowing in the depths. A handler in dark scuba gear stood nearby, holding what looked to be a harpoon skewered with a chunk of raw meat over the makeshift tank.  _ Now  _ Felix could see with the lights--there was a chain-link cage under the water. So whatever it was, they had it trapped in the tide. He strained, trying to look closer.

_ "Move along there, don't push! Everyone will see our magnificent creature, I promise! We call him Bruiser! You'll see why in a moment... Sam, will you please feed him?" _

The man with the harpoon was very carefully extending the meat, holding it just at the line of the water. The point of this was to give a show after all, they had to coax this ‘Bruiser’ out. Felix leaned forward even further, trying to see as blood dripped freely into the ocean, mixing darkly with white sand.

All at once, the lights flared bright, and a gaping maw lashed out of the water, snatching the chunk of meat whole in its jaws. But they were not connected to a shark, nor even some kind of strange, oceanic serpent.

No, it was the face of a  _ man. _ A large man, to be certain, but a man.

Felix gasped and jerked back in such alarm that Sylvain had to steady him again. "What the  _ fuck!?" _ Felix hissed, feeling Sylvain grip his small hips. "Are they... are they keeping a  _ man _ down there!?"

"A man?" Claude said quickly. "Down, Fe. Sylvain, pick me up. I have to see this."

Sylvain, well-trained from track, field, and a good stint keeping up the equestrian team's stables, sat Felix down and practically threw Claude over his shoulders to see. Claude wasn't as small as Felix, but Sylvain held him upright all the same. "What’s happening?!" he hissed.

The handler, addressed as Sam, waved the skewer over the crowd to show it was gone. It seemed like the thing in the water was impatient and leapt out, snapping its jaws at the pole. It looked to be just an enormous, pale man--but there were dark stripes across his body, long red gashes--perhaps body paint? 

Finally the overhead stage lights burned on, covering the thing with nearly the light of day; it snarled and cried, covering its face with webbed fingers, tail lashing.

Tail.  _ Lashing. _

Claude stared in shock. A veritable mythical creature was being showcased right in front of them. And even if it wasn't real, it looked real enough to be impressive. He kept recording, this time not bothering to hide the phone, holding it high over their heads while the creature thrashed in the light, its dark coils striking the pillars of the docks, making them creak and groan.

**_"NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR VIDEO RECORDING!"_ ** the voice shouted over the mic.  **_"SECURITY!"_ **

"Time to go," Claude hissed, leaping from Sylvain's shoulders. It was their moment to make a strategic exit. Surely other phones had been smuggled in, so Sylvain knew what to do here. They split in three directions. Sylvain knew he was easiest to spot, with his red hair, so his hood was quickly pulled up to blend into the panicked visitors.

Still, he stole a last glance--the thing was clearly panicking from the sound, the bright light--and flailing its massive tail, its hands.

The same skewer that fed the creature was then harpooned into its side.

_ "Easy! _ Easy, Bruiser! Come on," the man shouted down at his captive, immune to its horrible yelps.

If Claude had seen the poor thing get stabbed in the side, he would have tried to punch Sam's lights out. But he was busy dodging through the crowd with proof of footage. He wasn't surrendering that for anything. And even when they managed to get out, to run past the bouncers, past the ticket booth, and revving up the jeep before Sylvain was even fully inside the car, they all knew without saying it out loud.

They were definitely going back.

  
  
  
  


"Okay. Okay," Sylvain said, raking hands through his hair. "So--so we're gonna get the nerd brigade on this, right? We're--gonna get Annette and--and she's gonna... I don't know... hack it or put it on CNN or... Or something." It was hard enough to know that the thing could bleed out, but... surely the carnival people, they wouldn't kill their moneymaker, right?

Back in Felix’s apartment, Claude was watching the video for the umpteenth time. Scrutinizing. Writing notes. "That tail is real," he breathed for the third time. "It's... bleeding. It can't be some optical illusion, it's... it's  _ real." _

Felix was leaning back in his office chair, staring at them both. "And what are  _ we  _ going to do about it? They might pick up and run after you got away with footage."

Claude bit his lip. "Hm... yeah." He looked up at both of them, utterly serious. "That means we have to go back tonight."

"Okay." Sylvain said with a solemn nod. "We need--a tub, something--or--do you think we could just let him out into the open ocean? He can swim home?" They both knew he would be a sitting duck to predators, bleeding that way. "I mean. It's... not like we can just bring him home and keep him in the house pool."

Felix scoffed. "Are you guys  _ serious? _ Did you not see that thing? It's feral! There's no way we could just take it home and keep it like a pet! What, should we fill a cooler and try to shove it in? You're both not serious, are you? Just report it!"

Claude frowned. "Who do you think would believe us, Fe?"

"I don't know! But they have resources! They could... tranq it or something."

"And probably kill it and sell it for parts!" Sylvain cried. "Grind it up-- I don't know! Look at what's happening to it now!"

Claude looked up. "Guys, I dragged you into this, you don't have to help," he offered, knowing full well what their responses would be.

"Oh, fuck you, we're not letting you go alone!" Felix hissed.

"Good," Claude said casually, standing up. "Then we'll need supplies."

‘Supplies’ for liberating a potential sea monster mostly involved what they could get from the local Hanneman's at this hour of night. Bedsheets. Pounds of raw meat. The biggest empty water cooler they could find. It was Sylvain who piled the Red Bulls on the conveyer belt.

"....You boys going to have fun tonight?" a surly blonde woman who looked like she was more protein shake than principle asked, ringing them up.

"You know it," Claude winked at her, once again paying for all the absurd merchandise.

Felix had offered his pool. It was better than a bathtub, and his father and brother were out of town anyway. "I don't even know if it's full," he groaned once they piled back in the jeep, but he was sure he could just fill it with the hose when they got there. "And that thing was huge. How is it going to fit in here? And what are we going to do about the guards?"

Claude turned around, grinning as he showed them a smoke bomb that resembled a real grenade... that he apparently just kept in his car. "Don't worry, Fefe, I'm king of distractions."

"You're king of the idiots," Felix hissed back. They were all going to jail for this.

"Besides, like... it's a sea thing right? The chlorine will make it go belly-up. It needs like... salt... or something, right. Shit." Sylvain shot back the energy drink so fast it made his teeth rattle. "We--we can go get the salt licks at the stable and. And just. Throw it in there. Right? It'll dissolve?"

Claude laughed at their panic, a bit wildly. They hadn't done anything this stupid since high school. "This is going to be fun." It didn't hurt that it was fueled by justice too.

They parked far away, on the opposite end of the beach. Felix was the one who offered to be the getaway driver, so it was just Claude and Sylvain who snuck closer. The tents, miraculously, were still there, but there were no lights at all.

"We could approach from the water, but that would be pretty fucking dangerous," Claude pointed out. "That creature might mistake us for a second dinner." He looked down at the folded net they had between them. Normally he had more time to plan things. They were really rushing this, really being stupid. Made him feel a bit alive though.

"Dude, we don't even have a boat, how the fuck?" Yet they still crept closer. "I can't see shit," Sylvain whispered. Everyone knew Sylvain needed glasses, but he refused to get them. They weren't sexy on him, he’d argued. Now he was on all fours in the sand, army-crawling toward the outside of the makeshift dock and cage.

Claude laughed in the dark, muffling his own voice with his hand. "Shit, I forgot how fun dumb stuff is," he elbowed Sylvain. "You got the meat? The cutters?" It seemed weird that no one was around the cage, but they could see now, it was closed. Suppose they didn't have to watch the beast if it was caged. "Do you even see him?" Claude squinted in the dark. He was hesitant to use the flashlight on his phone for fear someone would see and notice it.

"No... Not yet. I don't see anyth--"

A single, glowing eye met them on the other side of the chain-link fence, peering over the surface of the water. Lights flickered along a serpentine shape hidden in the dark sea, but it did not snap or growl at them.

_ "Fuck!" _ Sylvain scrambled right back on his ass into the tide.

Claude froze, but he did not back up. He swallowed, eyes huge and fascinated. "Hey there, buddy," he whispered, terrified as hell but thrilled to the core. It was like a wild dream. "Bruiser, right? Hey, hey... we don't want to hurt you..." He dared hold up a bit of meat, raw chicken from the store, and dangled it, but not too close, just letting him smell from the part of the cage that was above the surface. "Do you want this?"

Fingers stuck through the chain-link fence, and it clawed, reaching toward him, but unable to push past the cage.

"Why's--why's it so sluggish?" Sylvain hissed. It wasn’t that slow before.

It made a sound, clearly mostly on a different frequency, not unlike a whale.

Claude shivered. He could barely see anything but that single, glowing eye and the long black claws that reached through, but Sylvain was right. The creature seemed to move sort of slowly, clumsily. He took a deep breath and chucked the chicken through the links of the cage, watching closely.

It caught what it could, and then, pressed it to his mouth. It seemed to be chewing, but... struggling to get anything done. It was hard to look at for certain, but it was nowhere near the carnal rage they saw before.

"Claude. Claude, its teeth."

Where clearly sharp teeth should have been, they had been dulled down into harmless stumps-- seemingly sanded down by a belt sander. For all the show it made leaping out of the water for its meal earlier, it probably could hardly eat any of it.

Claude frowned. "Oh gods... Fucking sick of them." He wondered how sharp they’d have been normally. Finally, glancing around, he turned his flashlight on, careful not to shine it directly at the creature but at the water near its face so they could get a closer look. "They probably injured or tranqued the poor thing already... He can't even chew."

At the light, it reacted violently, crying out and covering its face, shrieking. It had done the same when the bright lights had been shone on it.

"Stop!  _ Stop! _ Gods, it probably hurts it--hey,” Sylvain whispered. “Hey, hey, we're gonna help. We're gonna help you, okay?"

Now that the light was gone, it peered out with its one eye. They could get a better look at it, having adjusted to the night. Most of the body was still hidden, but its torso was pulled out over the water, staring at them through long, lank yellow hair, which stuck to half of its face. As it breathed, its gills fluttered open and shut, and those long fingers reached through the bars at them with a strange croon.

Claude felt an instant regret, a guilt claw at him. He knew what it was like to be trapped, caged like an animal. And this creature, whatever he was, seemed intelligent, not like a fish. He tossed some more chicken and dared to croon back. "Hey, hey... Sorry about the light, no more I promise," he whispered, remembering the way he recoiled. "Do you... Understand us?"

The creature munched on it messily, as much as his teeth would allow, lapping its cheeks with his tongue--a scaled tongue, gleaming in the light. Those claws reached through the links, wriggling at him, keening. Not enough to fully understand... but he seemed to understand he was being spoken softly to, and fed.

"Alright, fuck this,” Sylvain sighed. They didn’t have a lot of time, and this seemed like a lucky window. “Give me the bolt cutters. He's probably drugged out of his head."

Claude nodded as he passed them over. "No sudden moves," he warned Sylvain, tossing the creature some more meat. "I'll keep him distracted, but he might be trying to lure and eat you too." They couldn't dismiss the possibility of the poor thing faking injury. Still, Claude's bleeding heart opened as he cooed back, keeping a lookout. Were his handlers really not around? This seemed too good to be true.

"Hey there, Bruiser. I'm Claude," he said gently, having no idea what to say or if he could comprehend. Still, he hoped he sounded comforting. "We're going to get you out of here... Patch you up, okay? Sorry it's chicken, fish was more expensive. You like it?" he asked and this time, he dared hold his hand closer, trembling just a little. The best way to earn trust was to show it, he knew, but that didn't mean he wasn't scared to be bitten, even with flat teeth.

The creature snatched his hand with alarming quickness, but it did not pierce his skin. He stretched out his fingers, amazed at them, perhaps amazed at his own. Claude shook badly as the creature caught his hand. He thought about snatching back, but he was afraid he'd get violent, so he just stared, swallowing his fear. He glanced at the hole Sylvain was working on, offering the meat with his other hand.

The chain link snapped--cheap, easily rusted, and swung open. Why the fuck was no one coming? He would count their blessings. Maybe the goddess looked out for... whatever he was.

The thing seemed unsure of going through the small entrance, though the water rushed through.

"That's not enough, Syl!" Claude hissed. "His tail is twice as thick as that!"

"Okay, Okay...." But as he started cutting, it seemed the creature's hunger won out. The creature pushed, wedged himself through in desperation for the food, slicing up a side badly, the water turning red. "Shit! Shit! Easy!  _ Easy!" _

Sylvain just managed to get the cage pried open in time for a massive fluke to press through it, taking the rest of the mangled cage with it with a groan.

Claude fell backwards, half in the sand and half in the water, catching his breath as the creature's powerful tail carried him up towards the rest of the box of raw chicken. Claude tried not to panic, pinned against the sand as the creature, clearly too drugged to notice the pain, tore through the box with his claws and pinned Claude, unwitting, to the ground.

"F-fuck,  _ Sylvain!" _ Claude hissed, terrified and awestruck all at once, calling on Sylvain for help. This poor creature was emaciated but... Beautiful. Mysterious.  _ Impossible. _

The thing coiled needfully around the box, devouring what it could, desperate. Now in the moonlight, half on the sand, caught in the surf, they could see more. The tail was strangely shaggy, the fins long and trailing, spiked, fanning out. Sylvain wondered idly if they were barbed, poisonous. It seemed to be male from the waist up, with gills--he was hoping they were gills and not massive cuts--along the side to match the ones on his neck. The thing was much bigger than they anticipated. True, he was clearly starving, but shoulders were far too broad for a normal human, its hands near twice what Claude's were.

Lights were flickering on in the tents. "Shit--shit, Claude. We have to get him out of here."

Claude nodded and tried to ease himself out from beneath the coils. "Hey, hey hey hey, it's okay... You want more? We can get more if you come with us," he said, hurried but trying to keep calm. He was soaking wet now, that would make it harder to run. "Sylvain, call Felix! We need the car like yesterday!" He reached out, utterly fascinated, offering his hand again. "We're... Going to have to carry you... Will you let us?"

Sylvain was worried that he wouldn't be able to understand his beloved Claude's words, might hurt Claude accidentally. So he seized a piece of chicken and whistled low, baiting him with it. The creature seemed impatient and nabbed the chicken with his hands, tearing into it as best he could. At least he was keeping busy.

Sylvain called Felix--and the jig was up as soon as the headlights flicked on, and the jeep roared to life in their direction.

The headlights made the creature cry, twisting and flailing again, covering his face, and revealed why he was called Bruiser, his scales a beautiful blue and black. It also uncovered what they already knew--blood, and a lot of it, with heavy lacerations along the sides, some having healed over in large lumps. It was a miracle Felix didn't hit it in his alarm.

They heard the shouts, but Claude was ready for that. He threw the smoke bomb. It smacked hard against the shale part of the beach and blew, bursting smoke over their would-be assailants. Even though it was clearly dangerous, in his pity, he covered the creature's eyes with his hands as he tried to lift him--and  _ damn  _ was he heavy. Once Claude pressed his palm to his face, it was also clear why his hair stuck to him.

He was down an eye. Fuck, but he’d have to deal with that later.

"Sylvain! Felix! Fucking  _ help  _ me!"

Felix, cursing the whole way, jumped down and tried to get a hold of the slippery tail. Sylvain hefted the enormous fluke over his shoulders, and pure adrenaline let them drape the thing in the jeep across the back seat. The sounds he made were awful, crying, screeching, clearly in confusion, pain. He tried to lash out, but with Claude's hands covering him, he couldn't find his targets.

"Go!" Sylvain screamed, scrambling into the passenger's seat.  _ "Go!" _

Felix was cursing even louder than the damned guards were shouting. "Shit shit shit shit shit!" But the jeep sped backwards over the sand far enough away that the shitty circus guards couldn't see their license plate, and then fucked off back to the road.

Claude cradled the poor creature's head in his lap, trying to keep him calm, horrified by the mess of scars across the creature's face. "Shh, shh... It's okay, it's okay..."

He gestured for Sylvain to hand him the spray bottle as he dumped one fluke in the cooler full of water. They had to keep him wet presumably. "Hey, hey... Look at me, it's Claude, remember? Remember me? I had the meat? We're going to get you more, I promise..." He smoothed back the poor thing's hair, so bright it was almost white.

The creature stared up at him with his single eye, shining in the moonlight. With his head tilted back, the scars of manacles across his throat became visible, over his gills. Even so, he gurgled a response to him.

"Chhh-lid?"

Claude smiled. "Close," he whispered, thinking it was almost closer to his birth name, which might be easier to say with two easy syllables. "Khalid," he said instead, fingertips fluttering gently over the scars. How cruel. "Kha... Lid."

Sylvain twisted in his seat, mouth agape. “He can speak?” So clearly this creature was sentient; it wasn’t just an animal with strangely human like features.

“Kha-leed,” the creature tried, clearly fighting through the haze of whatever was given to him, but terrified, his tail twitching.

Claude nodded at both the creature and Sylvain. "Good job," he praised gently. "Khalid! Kha-lid. Just like that."

Felix was grumbling under his breath as they sped through the dark streets of Fhirdiad, although it seemed unnecessary, given that no one was chasing them. He insisted on taking weird turns, to be positive no one was tracking them. Surely no one would let an asset go this easily. 

Felix's father lived up on a hill, where most old money did. Given that it was just at the middle of spring, the pool wasn't full yet, as Felix had predicted. A hose was thrown in, but the creature--Bruiser, was beginning to make these horrible gagging noises.

"We need to put him in--in a tub, or something." He looked awful.

Claude would forever be grateful that there was a bathtub on the first floor. As Felix tended to the pool, he and Sylvain heaved the enormous creature up the porch, so grateful rich people had fences to hide their sordid affair, and into the house, accidentally spilling him onto the floor while they took a temporary break. Claude rushed for a cup of water, which he intended to feed to Bruiser, but just ended up tripping and throwing it on his tail instead. "Uh... that works, right?" he asked Sylvain.

In the indoor lighting, now they could really get a look at their catch. He was gasping, gurgling slightly on the floor, and Sylvain sprinted to the kitchen to fetch some coarse salt. The salt lick had already been thrown into the pool, which was relatively small, considering, but enough to let their find submerge. He ran the bath and sprinkled in salt, unsure if this was brackish enough, but--assuming it would be better than just letting him dry out on land. Hooking his arms under Bruiser's, he began to drag him to the bathtub, becoming aware too late that he was streaking blood after him.

Claude hissed. "Sylvain,  _ Sylvain! _ Stop!" He gestured down in horror at the scarlet stains. But they had to get him to water. Presumably he couldn't breathe without it. He helped lift the tail, trying so hard to be both quick but also gentle, still babbling to him. "Bruiser, Bruiser, calm down... just relax, we're trying to help."

They dropped him a little bit into the tub. He was too long to fit properly, and it wasn't even a third of the way full yet, but they had to hope that feeling water on his back would calm him down a little.

He  _ did _ seem to calm, quieting. Thank goodness it was a big tub (both Glenn and Felix enjoyed long soaking baths, and so did Rodrigue, if he admitted it). His long tail draped outside the tub, and the fluke was positioned to lie in a cooler.

"Okay... okay, he doesn't like light. Thank goddess Felix’s dad sprung for dimmers." Sylvain turned the lights on low, peering over Claude’s shoulder. "Should we--I don't know, blindfold him while we work? We need to bandage these or he'll get an infection."

Claude crouched down by the creature's side, reaching out to gently pull his arm up away from his side. "Gods, he's huge... Look here." He pointed out the long, tapering gills on the creature's sides. The lamellae were shredded and grey. "If he's anything like a normal fish, these should be pink," he sighed. He’d had a few bettas in his lifetime, enough to know. "I don't know if normal bandages are going to work. We'll have to use neoprene."

"Yeah, that tracks," Sylvain agreed. "Goddess, it's hard to tell what's bruised, what's scaled... Fuck, Claude." The expression on Sylvain's face told him everything he needed to know. He was scared this creature was going to die on them, and it would be their fault.

Now laid on his back, they could get a look at his breast, which bore a massive cross-shaped scar over his pectoral. His forearms were black, but that seemed to be natural, not anything nefarious, however, there was a line of strange, fluttery fiber running from his wrist to his elbow that seemed torn, and matched one along his back.

"We need like... a marine biologist. Or--or a vet. A _ vet!" _ Sudden clarity reached Sylvain's face. "Isn't Marianne almost done with her DVM?"

Claude was not looking at Sylvain, he was staring down at the scar on the creature's chest. How odd... For a moment, he thought he'd seen it glow blue. No. Must have been nothing. "Yeah... I'll text her. Go see if you can fill the pool any faster." With Sylvain gone and the urgent text to his friend sent, he looked down, now alone with this man. This monster. This...  _ mer. _

"Hey..." he said softly and raised his hand, as if to gesture for him to do the same. "You understood me before... How about now? Can I see your hand?"

His fingers were much, much longer than Claude's, his nails near lost in the skin, sharp, the only thing sharp he was allowed, it seemed. His face was so angular, but so beautiful, with a long, slender nose, his face speckled with gleaming scales, lips pink. He didn't have eyelashes so much as tiny fins over his single eye, which watched him, glassy and cloudy as he raised his hand.

"Kha-lid?"

Claude let out a shaky breath. It was one thing to have a bigger hand than him. Claude wasn't the biggest man out there. But this creature's torso, his head, were nearly twice his size. If this were a human, he'd be at least eight or nine feet tall. He swallowed, wondering how something so huge and monstrous could be so sweet.

"That's right... Khalid. Um... Bruiser isn't your real name, is it?" he chuckled nervously, laying his palm flat against the mer's, noting his long, sharp teeth.

He blinked, slow, his iris slitted, easy to see now that it opened wide. "Khalid," he said, pointing to his nose, his face, with one claw, face twisted in concern.

Claude nodded. "Yep. Yeah. You got it. Khalid." He pointed at the creature's nose. "Bruiser?"

The frown, the lack of recognition, told him what he already knew. "Dmrtr." It was more of a chirp, rumble, a sound, than a name, ending in clicks.

Claude blinked. "Dermeter? Demeter?" he tried. "Like that old Goddess? Or are you saying Dimitri? Duh-mee-tree?" he clarified gently. He should have known Bruiser was not his real name. No intelligent creature would give that name to a beautiful, mythical mer. A dog, maybe.

None of those names sounded right to him, but he trilled a little at the name Dimitri; he seemed to like the sound of that. Working so much seemed to hurt him, though, and he grimaced. The water around him began to bloom red.

"Shit..." Casting about but finding nothing better, he stripped off his tee shirt and moved to inspect the damage. He pressed the fabric against the worst of the gashes, trying to stem the blood flow. Where the fuck was Marianne, Sylvain, anyone? "Hang on, okay? We're going to... Find help, okay?"

They were thankfully mostly superficial scratches, easily stemmed by the tee, but... with him leaning over that way, the newly-named Dimitri gave a low rumble and then just pulled Claude into the tub with him with a splash. Claude yelped and fought for balance, but this creature, no matter how injured and drugged, was quite strong. He gasped and sputtered in the water, trying to find purchase on the slippery tail to push himself back out, but then, unfortunately, smacked his head on the porcelain rim. Stunned, he groaned and lay weakly, heart racing, against the mer, looking up at him with obvious trepidation.

At the very least, he didn't seem terribly interested in eating him. In fact, he gave distressed little sounds and cupped an enormous hand behind his head, feeling for bumps, perhaps, for breaks. There was a rustle in the water as he pulled himself carefully around, and squeezed Claude in beside him, as if the water would help, though he kept his head above the water that was now beginning to overflow a little.

Claude's heart hammered, thudding louder and louder with his ears below the water. This creature could be dangerous, they'd seen his teeth but… At the same time, he seemed so gentle. He didn't hurt Claude, he just... Held him near his side. His eye was so wild but somehow so unthreatening. It was too strange to be real.

"Uh... Hi," he said quietly, nervous but unmoving. "You uh... You trying to drown me?" he joked, a bit weakly.

Dimitri keened at him, holding his head above the water, but keeping his body inside as if it might help somehow-- as if it would keep him warm.

Sylvain came inside just long enough to hear the splashing, dashing to the first floor bathroom.

"I think the pool is full enough to--woah, don't flood the house, Rodrigue will kill us--"

What he saw was hard to take in. The mer had pulled Claude into the tub like a cuddle toy, and the bathroom was near flooding. He carefully stepped in his sneakers to turn the handle off. Dimitri's face contorted in a hiss, spitting at Sylvain, lips curled back to show his teeth, uselessly flat.

Claude sucked in his breath, and spoke very slowly and quietly. "Sylvain... Don't. Move." If he got crushed by a giant mercreature... Well, it was certainly a creative way to go, but he still didn't want to die yet. "He... I don't know. I think... He wants to keep me," he whispered, eyes wide and fearful.

The fluke folded over Claude a little, protective. After all--he assumed Claude was hurt, and wanted to keep him safe.

"Okay... okay big guy... Just... gonna... Gonna reach over here." Sylvain managed to grab the knob and turn it off so at least the whole damn place wouldn't flood. Dimitri growled, but did not lash out at him.

Claude closed his eyes. He was honestly very scared but he didn't think Dimitri intended him any harm. He looked up. "Hey... Dimitri? Hi. Khalid, remember? I want to get up. Up," he repeated carefully, pointing outside the bath. "Please?"

The creature fixed him with a steely stare, but slowly unfurled his tail, his arms.

"Yeah... Yeah, here we go--" Sylvain swept Claude into his arms as if he weighed nothing at all, just in time to snatch Claude away from the creature's panicked reaching, grabbing, trying to get him back. He lashed his tail, breaking the massive mirror over the sink, shattering some of the tile. Just using his arms and powerful tail, he pulled himself from the tub, smearing blood and water on the walls in pursuit of them both. 

Naturally, Sylvain's instinct was to run, Claude safely in his hold. Equally as naturally, it was in Dimitri's instinct to chase, using his hands and tail to pursue them, massive tail swinging as he hauled himself through the fine Fraldarius house as Sylvain sprinted for the pool.

Claude gasped in shock, unable to think enough to run by himself as, over Sylvain's shoulder, he watched the creature thrash, breaking anything in the path of its massive tail on its way. The back door slammed open as Felix rushed in, panicked at the sound.

_ "What the fuck is going on!?" _

"Move move move move!" Sylvain snatched Felix up in his other arm, just as the thing careened outside, ending up face-first in the open pool in a half-blind panic. It wasn't really full enough to do a complete dive, which may have been to their benefit, as it wasn't really full enough for the thing to just climb out of--except for the ladder, which Sylvain started to pry at to try and pull up before the creature found them.

Felix was happy to be put down but as soon as Sylvain hauled the little ladder out, Claude clung to his back, gasping, scared. He thought he was going to be eaten or worse... It wasn't like Claude to be scared, so when he clung to Sylvain, and he could feel Claude shaking, Sylvain turned around quickly to comfort him.

"How did he even follow you?" Felix snapped, backing away from the edge. "He doesn't have  _ legs." _

"He just dragged himself across the floor with his arms!" Sylvain cried, throwing the ladder in the bushes, staring down at the thing curled in the bottom of the pool, unmoving. "I don't know! Where the fuck is Marianne--" He turned then, taking Claude's face in his hands. "Did he hurt you?"

Claude managed to shake his head after a moment, swallowing. "No..." he breathed, eyes still enormous, face pale. "No, he... I-I don't think he wanted to..." But he sounded doubtful.

Felix ran his fingers through his hair with frustration and peered over the edge to see if the creature was all right from the fall. There was about four feet of water, so the fall was somewhat cushioned, but it was such an enormous creature. Dimitri was stunned, having crashed into the water, but not so much so that it would have killed him, evidently.

Sylvain squeezed Claude closer, protective. "If--if you don't mind the pun, I think we're out of our depth here."

Claude finally managed to get himself under control. Normally, he’d smack Sylvain for such a pun, but they had bigger things to worry about. Worried, he crept forward next to Felix. His heart stopped seeing the creature lie still. "Fuck... Di... Dimitri?" he called softly into the pool, hoping the sound of his voice might rouse him.

He keened back up at him, the sound echoing in the tile, mournful and miserable. One arm reached up toward him, fingers outstretched.

Claude had the absolutely dangerous and irresponsible urge to go into the pool, run to him, soothe him. Thankfully, Felix was there to put him to rights.

"Don't even think about it," he snapped. 

Claude sighed, but he did inch a little closer. "I'm okay, I'm okay, Dimitri. Can you understand? Khalid?" he asked him to recognize him once more.

"Khalid," he echoed, along with a string of sounds that were almost words, but not quite. Certainly nothing spoken in Fódlan or beyond. 

Headlights bounced up the driveway, and soon here was a horrified gasp from the front door. There was a soft little sound that could've been a swoon, and then a very irritated yell.

"Hey! Claude? What the  _ fuck _ did you guys get into? You are  _ not  _ pulling us into this." Hilda, obviously there to shepherd Marianne along and not happy at the amount of blood and broken furniture in the living room.

Claude swore. He'd forgotten they were coming. He turned to go back inside.  _ "Hilda! _ Shut up and come here, we'll explain!"

The beast bellowed from the pool, crying and carrying on, clawing helplessly at the tile sides. He didn’t seem to like that Claude had left his sight. In response to the ungodly noise, lights flickered on in the surrounding houses.

Marianne had to all but be carried past the destruction in the Fraldarius house--blood splatters, broken glass, and a half-flooded bathroom, out to where the sound was coming from.

_ "No! _ No no no!" Marianne was crying, her hands over her face.

Claude quickly rushed back out. There was something sort of endearing about the creature being attached to him enough to cry when he was out of sight, but  _ damn _ was that an awful noise. "Hey, hey, hey!" he shushed him quickly from the side of the pool. "It's okay!" he panicked, all the words rushing out as babble. "Hey, it's me! It's Khalid, Khalid! Dimitri, Dimitri, baby, it's okay..."

Felix just gave him A Look.

Marianne gasped, suddenly recuperated, rushing to the side of the pool. Speaking like that only meant one thing. "Babe! Babe  _ no!" _ Hilda hissed through her teeth, "Claude, what the fuck!"

"Oh--" Marianne gasped, "Oh, you  _ beautiful  _ thing, you poor thing! Look at you!"

Claude shrugged a little sheepishly at Hilda. He was known for doing stupid things for fun, but this had to be the biggest one. "I'm a little bit jealous," he smiled, seeing Marianne coo at the creature. "He was starting to like me, I think."

Felix just glared at him. "You're going to get yourself killed and I'm going to laugh."

Marianne, for all of her terrible anxiety, had absolutely no trouble climbing down into the pool, fully clothed, to approach an actual factual mythical creature. Dimitri flattened himself against the back wall, but did not submerge, watching them all with one wide eye.

"Where in--like, he's real, right, this isn't some... special effects cosplay?" While Hilda spoke to Claude, her eyes were focused on Marianne, reaching her bare hands out to this thing and speaking to it like it was one of the fledglings she was fostering.

Claude nodded. Poor Hilda was probably worried about Marianne, but honestly, Claude wasn't as worried. If anyone could tame the strange mer, it was Marianne. "He's real, I promise," he said, a bit hoarsely. "I should know. He dragged me into the tub with him. I thought he was fixing to drown me."

_ "Drown _ you. You tell me this, as my girlfriend is waist-deep in the water with this thing."

"Will you tell me your name?" Marianne asked the mer sweetly, pointing to her face. "Marianne."

Dimitri, having done this exercise before, unfurled warily. "Dee-mee-tree."

"Dimitri? Why, that's a lovely name. Dimitri, Dimitri, let me look at your lovely tail, hm? It looks like it hurts very much."

Claude watched, suddenly wishing he had the nerve to get down there with them. "Look," he said gently to Hilda. "He's gentle... kinda. I don't think he'll hurt her, okay? No need to thump me into a coma again."

"It wasn't even a coma," Felix clapped back, but Claude noticed he had his father's old rifle in his lap. Just in case. Felix never was the very trusting sort. He hoped it wouldn't have to come to that.

The creature crawled closer, his tail coiling like a corkscrew to push himself along on the bottom of the pool, not deep enough for him to swim properly, and finally allowed Marianne to inspect him, which she did, wholeheartedly, holding open his jaws to look inside, running her fingers across his sides, feeling for wounds.

"Claude? Did you say you had neoprene? These will need to be wrapped; they've clotted, but I worry any thrashing might open them, and the salt content will be painful."

Claude perked up. "I mean... I've got a pair of scuba suits at home you can cut up," he offered. "But we'll have to buy more." His phone was out, scrolling through Amazon. "I've got some raw meat in the fridge too." But he hesitated--last time he'd left the creature's sight, he'd bellowed, but it seemed he was content with Marianne right now. "Sylvain, Felix, stay here and make sure everything goes well, all right? I'll be back with some supplies."

"Get something to scrub the fish blood off my dad's fucking wallpaper," Felix hissed back.

Indeed, the creature began to cry and panic when Claude left, his massive fluke beating the water.

"Why don't I go, considering you're the only one keeping him quiet?" There was a bit of a grumble to Sylvain's tone, but it lacked fangs. He kissed Claude’s brow, lingering. "Just text me with whatever you need. Also, Fe, I think that wallpaper's ugly and Glenn has been looking for any excuse to change it, so."

Claude didn't want Marianne to get hurt if the creature--if Dimitri started thrashing around again. He nodded and leaned into Sylvain, not wanting him to leave. "Be quick," he begged.

Felix was pacing the far edge of the pool with the rifle, which was making Claude nervous. But they'd wrangled Felix into this when he hadn't wanted to do it in the first place, so he couldn't really complain. With a deep breath, he lowered himself into the half-empty pool with Marianne, trying not to splash, and approached warily, wading in full clothing, gently repeating the creature's and his own name to keep him calm. "Hey, Dimitri. It's Khalid. Khalid. This is Marianne, okay, Dimitri? Marianne."

Dimitri moved too quickly, slipping entirely out of Marianne's gentle hands, and wrapped his tail around Claude's legs, keeping him. He keened, pawing his body as if searching for wounds.

"Hm. It's almost as if he's imprinted on you."

Claude sucked in a nervous breath as the creature utterly captured him and scratched gently at him. He glanced at Marianne and winced, seeing Felix train the rifle at the back of the creature's head. "Imprinted? Like a duck?" he whispered, gently reaching out to pat the enormous mer's shoulder. Animals weren't his specialty, but he liked dogs, so petting him just felt natural.

"Why yes!” Marianne hummed. “Much like a duckling. Or, more aptly, a dog who has been through a great deal of abuse and imprints on the first person who is kind to them. I see it often with my fosters." It was a good thing Marianne lived a bit outside of town, as she had a menagerie of animals in various stages of rehabilitation.

Dimitri, even with his claws like knives touched Claude so, so carefully. Still, Claude was breathing so, so carefully. One mistake and that claw would rend his flesh open as easily as a worm. They were sharper than Felix's damned sword collection. He pursed his lips for a moment, closing his eyes as the creature's claws touched his cheek. Then he forced a very tiny smile.

"Do you feel better?" he asked quietly, gesturing at the pool around them. Claude and Marianne could touch the bottom, but it was almost easier to swim. Neither of them were very tall, and with his tail, Dimitri was twice their height. "Is this good?" he asked, even though blood still swirled through the salty water.

Dimitri unspooled a little, his arms wrapping around Claude's legs, apparently determined to keep him up above the water.

"Interesting... Perhaps he was not trying to drown you, but to keep you safe?" Marianne was observing like they were in the wild instead of Rodrigue’s half-empty pool.

Claude had to admit, it  _ did  _ seem like Dimitri was trying to keep him afloat. Smiling a bit broader, he stroked the mer's long wet hair. "Were you just trying to protect me, Dimitri?" he asked, a bit loudly so Felix would hear. "It's because of all that chicken I gave you, isn't it?" he laughed, relaxing just a little bit. Carefully, he brushed the hair back from his face, inspecting the deep scars where his second eye would have been. Gods, what sick fucks had done this? Was it his handlers or had this happened before they caught him? Was he raised in captivity, perhaps?

As if to prove a point, Dimitri licked Claude’s hand, his tongue broad enough to cover his whole palm.

"He does look incredibly underfed. But chicken wouldn't provide the right nutrients," Marianne said. Hilda was now sitting on the edge of the pool, ready to leap in after her idiot girlfriend if she did something like, stick her whole arm in his mouth, which was something she had done before, though not with something so dangerous. "He'd fare better with seafood proteins, but given the state of his poor teeth, something small."

"Like what, ordering an anchovy pizza?" Hilda asked, her eyes narrowed at the creature, who was still licking and nuzzling at Claude's hand vigorously.

"Well, the... pizza is not necessary. But anchovies or shrimp would be easier for him to chew."

Claude had to wonder if this mer was tasting him. Gods, he hoped not. "Felix, come on, put the gun away. He's not doing anything. Besides, what would you say if someone called the cops?"

"I'd tell the sarge that I was fucking around with my dad's gun and he'd believe me and leave because he's an idiot."

Oh. Right. Rodrigue was a retired detective and Glenn was a well-respected PI. The neighbors were definitely used to hearing horrible screams from the Fraldarius house, only to discover it was Rodrigue, drinking tea and watching the worst true crime shows on cable, very loudly because of his tinnitus. They probably wouldn't even call.

"In any case, what does it mean for Claude?” Hilda asked. “He loses his shit every time he leaves, so is he gonna have to sleep out here?"

"Not in the pool, no. But you may want to set up in one of the cabanas," Marianne suggested helpfully.

Claude sighed. This had been his idea, and he didn't regret it but... "Yeah. Yeah, I will. We can't just leave him alone." Who knew what he would do? "Hey, easy there, buddy." Dimitri had drawn his claws dangerously close to cutting through his shirt.

Felix huffed. "This is insane. I hate all of you." Of course, he wasn't leaving Claude to fend for himself. He'd have to stay at his father's for a while. Likely Sylvain and Marianne would want to as well, which meant Hilda would insist, and then Sylvain and Hilda would be in the same sphere for a while, which was chaotic at best.

"The big question here is, what is he and--where do we put him? I mean, Claude, he can't just live here in someone's pool."

"Indeed," Marianne said, taking the opportunity while Dimitri was distracted to wrap the wounds in what she could use, ace bandages for now, until the neoprene arrived. "He will not thrive in such a small space. He would need enrichment... ideally, he would need to return to the ocean. Though to be honest with you, I do not know how--" Her eyes turned down. "How well he would fare with other predators, in such a state."

Claude shook his head. "We'll have to figure that stuff out from here," he sighed, hating to admit he didn't have any answers. "Enrichment, healing... what he is... He needs rehab before we get him back home, right?" he directed at Marianne, gesturing at his heavy lacerations. "We need to get him healthy before anything else. Can you help with that? I can do other research..."

Like, maybe, 'do merpeople even exist and was this just a dream or a drug trip?'


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry...

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately, this fic has been canceled, due to the absent interest of the rp partner I had to continue it. I'm sorry to those who hoped it would go on, however, this fic in particular will be sort of restyled and revamped under a different author on A03 with my own ideas and a few new rp partners I have befriended (with all the same ships and monsterfucking you know and love lol)! I've not yet made the new profile yet, so if you wish to follow the newer version of this fic, I'll have it posted on my twitter @Mechanist_Macha so be on the lookout for that as well!

Thank you so much for the comments and the kudos, I appreciate you all so much and I hope you keep reading! <3333


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